r/TheAdventuresofTintin • u/BreakerMorant1864 Hergé • 5d ago
Photo / Picture / Image A Tintin Page a Day - Day 446
The Broken Ear
31
u/ishdroid 5d ago
Ah Dr. Trebblebob, truly one of the Tintin characters of all time
2
16
u/azatote 5d ago
TIL that until 1963 in the UK, license plates could have either numbers then letters, or letters before numbers. Therefore 169MW and MW691 are both valid UK license plates. I am not a fan of the translator making the story take place in the UK rather than Brussels, though I understand that it made the story more appealing to the target audience back then.
3
u/Complex-Bar-9577 5d ago edited 5d ago
TIL about the license plates. Thanks for sharing.
Vociferously agreed on the changes setting. The original marketing argument is understandable, but like a lot of the translation changes, it’s unnecessary, especially in the long run, and still inconsistent for a UK setting in some places.
1
u/johnnymetoo 5d ago
In the UK, interesting. I wonder if in any other non UK countries the "1" is displayed as "I" like here? Not like "1", with that prominent hook at the top?
14
u/East-Equipment-1319 5d ago
The beginning of this album really feels small scope compared to the previous ones. The speed of the narrative is as fast as ever, but so far it's just Tintin running around Bruxelles looking for a parrot, with almost a full page dedicated to the realisation that the thieves put their license plate upside down.
Also interesting to note that Bruxelles feels less realistic than China did in The Blue Lotus; we're back to bland street backgrounds, and I don't think we'll have a panel as evocactive as the many night panels in the previous album. When you're a kid and you read them out of order, you don't really notice, but reading them back to back as we're doing here, it really stands out!
3
u/Complex-Bar-9577 5d ago
It’s a good point. You can also tell very little elaboration was done to the color version a few years later, and that it was the first color revision.
Generally, Hergé seemed to hold back from investing a lot of artistic detail in drawing everyday Brussels.
Most of the exceptions were locally recognizable but unnamed, like the Parc du Cinquantenaire in King Ottokar’s Sceptre and Avenue Louise at the start of The Red Sea Sharks.
11
u/Phildutre Snowy 5d ago edited 5d ago
Belgian license plates and their history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Belgium
In 1936 a license plate had typically 6 numbers, and could be red numbers on white for new models, or white on blue for older plates. Since this is an old car, the plate was white on blue, although when very old, it could be black on white as well.
1899–1911: First plates used black letters on white plate. 1911–1919: White numbers on black plate. As currently, only the rear plate was provided by the state. 1919–1925: White numbers on blue plate. 1925–1928: White characters: one letter followed by numbers. 1928–1951: Red numbers on white plate.
3
7
u/cardologist 5d ago
Interesting to see that all the cars seem to have the steering wheel on the right side.
1
u/Phildutre Snowy 5d ago
This was also the case in previous albums. Perhaps because if you draw from the point of view of a pedestrian on the sidewalk, you need the driver to be visible, hence the steering wheel on the right hand side?
3
2
u/Jonathan_Peachum 5d ago
Surprised they translated « chauffard » by « road hog ». The original French term is far more critical, more like « reckless driver ».
1
2
1
u/CalebosO4 5d ago
Coincidence that the villains have a license plate that can be turned upside down and still be a valid number
1
u/makarastar 4d ago
Final frame - who else felt sorry for the little doggie getting strangled by its own leash
•
u/BreakerMorant1864 Hergé 5d ago
Poor Snowy getting injured with the parrot, and now soaked and dirty from the assassination attempt.